Valentine's Day blog hop 2015

I am so excited about linking up with an AMAZING group of secondary teachers to share a little love about teaching!

1) There's so much I love about teaching. I made collage using about .00001 of the pictures I've accumulated over the years, and in the spirit of this collage I am going to ramble (using mostly sentence fragments) about all the things I LOVE about teaching. I love my students. I love learning, and positioning my students to think.I love overcoming obstacles. Problem Solving together. Drama free days. Laughing.Playing.Creating. I love being a role model. Playing multiple roles. Smiling. Learning with my kids.Teaching old things in new ways. I love working with other teachers. Giving. Getting.Growing.Collaborating. I love getting to know what makes kids tick (in a good way). I love the sound of laughter. The sound of awe. The sound of joy. I love getting better. I love proving stereotypes wrong. I love falling down. And getting up. I love meeting parents, guardians, brothers, and sisters. I love being a part of a family.I love being in the "know" about new trends and fads. I love the energy in the room when my students are "all in." I love the stories my students sometimes tell. I love creating our own story, on our own stage, in our own world. I love the challenge in the day to day grind. I love preparing my students to speak back to the world. I being able to share my gift with my students. I love asking questions, and listening to responses. I love reading with students, and listening to them tell me what they love about reading. I love giving my all on a daily basis.I love thinking outside the box. I love watching kids grow. I love teaching.

2) Now, that I've shared a growing list of things I love about teaching, I hope you will indulge me for a minute while I rant. One thing that is difficult about the middle school years is the DRAMA. I am talking about the he said, she said, we said, I like, she likes, he likes type of drama! Are you following me? I took all that energy I have about preteen/teen emotions and rolled it into a CREATIVE WRITING FREEBIE! The gist of this activity involves students creating a "perfect pair" by rolling two cubes, and using the descriptions on the cubes to create a story about two characters that are the perfect PAIR.This resource can be found here in my store! I'd love to hear your feedback about this product.

3) A funny/adorable gift that received for Valentine's Day came from one my students who shared my love for the FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES. He bought me a sweater vest, and every time I've worn this the team has won! Too bad I forgot to wear it when we played the Ducks this year. #toosoon

4) Something you would love to do is start a family blog. I have so much fun with my hubby who is a Game of Thrones nerd, middle school music teacher, and our household chef! We even have a fun GoT inspired blog name! This idea has Summer of 2015 written all over it.

5) I really love Jacquline Woodson's books. I recently read Brown Girl Dreaming and it is an AWESOME and INSPIRING book!

Hope you enjoyed this post, and head on over to the other blogs participating is this LOVEly hop!